


Betrothal or Destined

by SmartassUndertheMountain



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Soulmate AU, betrothal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 03:39:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8874328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmartassUndertheMountain/pseuds/SmartassUndertheMountain
Summary: Request: Imagine Reader has known Lindir all her life. Lindir has loves the reader. Reader is already betrothed to Legolas. Legolas is set on marrying Reader. The angst and conflict? You decide!-Okay, so I added in a dash of Soulmate AU because I’m Soulmate AU trash. Pry it from my cold. dead. hands.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ashley_Winchester_77](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashley_Winchester_77/gifts).



> So I added a bit of soulmate au to it.
> 
> And I tried so hard to do angst, but every time I tried it felt fake and forced. So other than a bit of pining there isn't really much angst (at least not yet? I'll try in the second part).

_Don’t think like that, Y/N. It will do nothing but get you in trouble. Is he cute? Yes. Is he smart, and sweet, and a good listener? Yes. Is he a good kisser? Probably… DAMNIT! He is off limits. He’s a good friend and nothing else._

 

_  
_

_Come on, you can’t go there. She’s betrothed. She can’t be yours. Even though she’s really kind, and intelligent, and pretty, and even makes Elrond laugh on a bad day with her sarcasm. Even though she looks like she likes you back. It can’t happen. It won’t happen._

 

 

    “Your two aides seem to be staring longingly at each other again, My Lord.” Estel smiled in amusement, but his bark-brown eyes held a glimmer of worry as he spoke to Lord Elrond, walking through the gardens, keeping an ever watchful eye on his friends who were preparing the evening’s post-supper entertainment.

    “Yes, Estel, keeping them together but apart is doing neither of them any favours, but I can’t bear to separate them. What good would it do either of them to be away from each other? But what good is it doing keeping them so close?”

    “Is false hope worse than no hope?”

    “In their case? I have no idea.”

 

 

 

    “Arwen, I don’t know what to do. I know that I’m betrothed, that I always have been, but I can’t do this. I can’t marry someone I don’t love.”

    “I thought you got along splendidly? You seemed very infatuated when you got back from seeing him a few years ago.”

    “I was infatuated, but that’s the problem. It was infatuation, not love. Legolas is nice, but I can’t possibly marry him just because our parents wanted us to.”

    Arwen tried to hid her smile, and knowing she was failing, turned to leaf through some pages so that you could only see a curtain of dark hair successfully concealing her amusement at your not-so-amusing predicament. “A few years ago, you were fine with infatuation. He was nice and you said you could grow to love him. Whatever could have changed?”

    “I hear the sarcasm, Arwen, and I don’t appreciate it.” You giggled, thankful for her levity. “I know who I’m supposed to be with, but nothing in Legolas’ letters indicates that he wants anything but my hand. Which is all well and good, but there is no passion, no deep feelings. And that’s no fault of his, I’m sure I come off the same way to him.”

    “He wants your hand, the hand that you want Lindir to hold, not Legolas, because there is passion with Lindir?”

    “Exactly.”

    “Have you spoken to Ada?”

    “I’ve got to be honest, Erestor is easier to approach about matters of the heart. I love your father as my Lord and as second father, but I can’t possibly go up to him and say: ‘My Lord, I’m just so in love with Lindir I cannot possibly marry Legolas.’” Your voice took on an exaggerated lilt, arms flung out, grasping Arwen’s hands as through they were her father’s, you sunk down to your knees to beseech ‘him.’ “I’m in love with your cute brunette aide that I work with all day, every day. Please tell King Thranduil that I will not become his daughter-in-law, also, could you marry us, pretty please?” You fluttered your eyelashes, one hand still holding hers, the other held over your heart.

    “Get up you silly love struck fool, and I will marry you to Lindir at once!” Arwen said, pitching her voice deep in a poor attempt to mimic her father’s baritone voice. She pulled you to your feet with both of you laughing so hard you were gasping for air. With an arm around your shoulders she guided you out of the room for an evening walk, the two of you still giggling and imagining exactly how poorly Thranduil would take the rejection of his son - theoretically of course, because there was no way you could tell Legolas ‘no,’ just as there was no way that you could marry him.

 

 

    While you had the evening free, Lord Elrond had requested Lindir stay with him in his study for the evening, going over some details from a boarder patrol a month earlier, deciding which entrances to Imladris needed to be more carefully hidden. It was two hours in and Lindir was losing his focus, thinking about how much better it would be if there were another person helping them. A female person. With a beautiful smile and sharp wit to make the dull work more enjoyable.

    “My Lord? May I speak freely with you for a moment?”

    “You may always speak freely with me, Lindir.”

    “Is there anything that can be done to stop a royal betrothal?”

    “You mean Legolas’s betrothal to our Y/N?”

    He nodded, wondering just how far above his station he was stepping.

    “You love her, don’t you, Lindir?”

    “With all my heart. How can she be meant to be with him when I know that I’m meant to be with her? How can either of them want to be someone who isn’t their Destined?”

    Lord Elrond let out a soft sigh and rubbed his temples, trying to think of the best thing to say, of what to do if Lindir asked him to appeal the betrothal. “Betrothals aren’t common among our people, neither is waiting this late to marry.  There are a great deal of a-typical things about this particular situation, Lindir.”

    “So there is no precedence?”

    “Not exactly. There was one betrothal that got called off, but it was not royal in the slightest, and one of the parties was one of the dunedain. It was called off because he fell in love with another mortal, and the elf would not force him to neglect his heart, even though he was willing to follow through with his promise.”

    “So Legolas would need to be willing to concede?”

    Elrond nodded slowly.

    “But surely Y/N could not be forced into a marriage she does not want?”

    “No, no elf would stand by that, but you must understand that she is under a great deal of pressure. Saying no to betrothal is not to be done lightly, and it is my understanding that you’ve not told her you love her?”

    Lindir looked at his shoes. “No, my Lord.”

    Elrond nodded again. “Talk to her. It’s only with words that anything is ever resolved.”

 

 

    You laid in your room, reading through your old journals, counting how many times you mentioned Lindir and Legolas. Lindir was winning by a lot. But you lived in the same realm as him, you saw him everyday, of course he would be mentioned more. You went back through and counted how many times you mentioned thinking about the two, and Lindir still won, not in such a drastic way, but it was still an easy win. You sighed, this was doing no good. Just let your mind wander, let it find somewhere nice.

 

   _The sound of the waterfall drowned out the noise from the dinner party that you and Lindir had finally been dismissed from. He had grabbed two plates, and you grabbed the wine, and run off into the garden to enjoy a nice picnic supper by the water. The evening was spent laughing and drinking, and when the food was gone and the bottle empty, you went for a dip in the water, just up to your knees, robes hiked up to avoid getting wet. It was going well, until Lindir said something smart and you shoved him as payback. He laughed and shoved you back, but you had been mid-step, lost balance, and started falling. Reaching out to grab you, but failing, Lindir had fallen with you. Together you emerged dripping wet from the pool, still laughing, and a little cold with the night breeze rolling in._

 

     Nope. Not that. Wander somewhere else.

 

    _Crickets and night birds chirped. Only the candles and the glow of the fire lit the room as you both hunched over papers, trying to figure out what exactly Lord Celeborn had been referring to in his last letter. He did love referring to the vague and specific, so little known that even the oldest elf had to resort to the books to figure out his reference. Lord Elrond had called him a know-it-all once, but you knew that he thought very highly of his father-in-law, and meant it in the most flattering way possible._

_“My back is killing me,” you groaned as you stretched._

_“My neck is what’s getting me,” Lindir grunted as he popped his neck, wincing after it finally popped. “I don’t know if it hurt more before or after I did that.”_

_“Come on,” you stood and held out a hand, “let’s take a break. We should go for a walk.”_

_“Isn’t it a bit cold for that?” He asked, but he stood and took your hand all the same. “Why don’t we stay in and stretch a bit?”_

_“And how do you suggest we do that?”_

_He smiled and started humming. He bowed and you curtsied. He took your other hand and began leading you in a dance every elf learned as a child. You twirled around the room together, narrowly avoiding furniture. He spun you as the song neared its end and dipped you on the last note. You looked up at him, clinging to him. The red flush of his cheeks and the sparkle in his brown eyes were gorgeous, but paled in comparison to the bright smile that stretched across his face._

_He pulled you back up and you dropped your arms, still smiling._

_“Feeling better?”_

_“Much. And this was definitely better than going for a walk in the cold. Thank you.” You nodded in thanks._

_He nodded in return. “My pleasure.”_

 

    “Ugh!” You flopped onto your back. Remembering your favourite moments with Lindir was not helping at all.

 

 

 

    Lindir paced in front of your door: stalking up to it, ready to knock confidently on the door, before quickly backing away, to make another short loop, mouthing out what he might say, giving himself pap talks.

    “Just do it, Lindir. There’s nothing else for it.” With a deep breath and a single sharp nod of the head, he marched back to your door and rapped on it three quick times. He was about to run away when you opened the door.

    “Lindir! What a pleasant surprise. Won’t you come in?”

    He smiled and nodded, following you into your room and sitting when you gestured him to the small couch under the window. You settled in next to him, legs tucked under you.

    “So what brings you here, mellonin?”

    “Well, it’s been a long time since had a nice little chat.” He smiled, but it felt stiff on his face.

    “We chat at work often enough, but a long deep conversation on the other hand…”

    He chuckled with you and nodded. “Well, I didn’t want to presume to take up too much of your time.”

    “I’ve got an eternity, and you can take up as much of it as you would like.” You had meant for it to sound friendly and inviting, like a friend happy to have a good long talk, but you knew how much more desperate it sounded.

    “I’d like to take up quite a bit of it.”

    Your heart stuck in your chest. Lindir’s was lodged in his throat, silently begging you to say something.

    You blinked rapidly, as if that would clear your head of the fantasy it wanted to believe was possible. An eternity with Lindir was not for you. You looked down and smiled, trying to will away the self pity. “I will give you all that I can.”

    “And how much would that be, My Lady?” Lindir knew he was crossing into dangerous territory, but now that it was close to being brought up, so close to revealing how he felt, he couldn’t stand the pretended, the gentle looks, the subtle flirtations that were hidden behind a strong friendship. It was too much to endure again.

    “My lady?” You repeated, confused. He'd never called you that before except in jest.

    “I’ll have to start using that soon enough, won’t I? Thought I should get used to it.” _Oh, now I’m just being rude. Dial it back._

    “Please don’t. I never want to hear it. Especially not from you.” You could feel the need for tears to slip free, but they weren’t welling up in your eyes yet, and for that you were grateful.

    “I don’t want to ever have to say it, but it seems that eventually I must. Unless you’re willing to give me some kind of hope that I might not have to?”

    You searched his face. You didn’t have to look hard. He said exactly what he meant, and any questions that you were left with were answered with one glance at his deep brown eyes, pleading with you to answer.

    “Lindir, I don’t know how to answer that.”

    “Then don’t answer that, but do answer this. I love you, and I feel in my heart that you are my Destined. Do you feel the same? Or do you feel that you are Destined to be with Legolas? Whatever your answer, I will accept it.”

    The tears were threatening to spill now, and you shook your head. “Lindir, there is nothing that I want more than to be with you. I’ve known that you were my Destined since I got back from the Woodland Realm three years ago. I love you.”

    “But you won’t call off your betrothal.”

    “No royal betrothal has ever been called off. There’s no telling what the results would be for Rivendell and The Woodland Realm. King Thranduil might never speak to Lord Elrond again, and that would be disastrous on many different levels. I don’t know that I even can call it off.”

    “Do you want to?”

    “Of course! Why would I want to be with anyone but my Destined? How could I want to be with anyone but you?”

    He reached out and took your hands in his, tears of his own making his eyes shine. He leaned in close and bowed his head slightly in respect, knowing how close he was to your face, and when he spoke the breath of his whisper felt warm on your face. “I am yours, and I will follow your lead in this matter. If you want me, if you want to forsake you betrothal, then you shall have me in every way. If you want to honour your betrothal, and marry Legolas, then I will let you go, and never make you feel guilty for your choice. Whatever you choose, I will respect.”

    “Lindir.” You couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. They fell freely, and you just managed to stifle the sob in your chest. Had your Destined or betrothed one been a jerk then you would not feel any remorse in choosing one over the other, but how could you be expected to choose between love and honour? “Lindir, this is very selfish of me, but, can I kiss you?”

    He nodded and you surged in. You kissed him hard, hand gripping his shoulders, tongue swiping across the seam of his lips until he opened for you. His mouth moved to work with yours, letting you keep control. It was like he was surrendering to you and as soon as you realized that you pulled back abruptly. You were both panting, tear tracks running down both of your cheeks. You stared at each for a moment. He reached up to wipe one from yours as you reached to wipe away one of his.

    “I shouldn’t have done that.”

    “I don’t have any regrets, My Lady.”

    “Could you love me if I disregarded all honour and tradition? If I turned my back on my duty?”

    “There is nothing that could make me stop loving you.”

    “Then don’t you dare ever call me ‘Lady’ ever again.”

    Lindir smiled wide, until his face hurt. His hand reached around to the back of your neck and pulled you in for another kiss, this one much gentler, and much longer, and with both of you in control.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm terribly sorry that this has taken so long! I wanted to wait until it was completely done to post, but this is like 8 pages long on a word document so I wanted to go ahead and post it.
> 
> I appreciate every read, kudos, and comment! It's been a while since I've written for this fandom, so please let me know if I've still got it, or it feels too OOC.


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